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This is the first of three articles in which we will examine the success of Dave Caldwell’s draft classes. Let us start with his first class in 2013

By Zach Weeks

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Pick one:Luke Joeckel

Upsides: This past year Joeckel improved his ability to be a consistent pass-blocker against most opponents.Downsides: Joeckel struggled when facing top-tier pass rushers like our conference rival JJ Watt who torched the Jags o-line. He has also had trouble staying healthy, which may have contributed to his slow development.

Was this a good pick?It’s hard to say with Joeckel. It’s a safe bet to say that if the Jaguars hadn’t selected Joeckel, another team would’ve taken a chance on him early in the 2013 draft. The Jaguars will likely give Joeckel one more year to prove himself as a first round talent before officially labeling him a bust. If he doesn’t come through next year, I’d say he was drafted too high.

Pick two:Jonathon Cyprien
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Upsides: Cyprien has been effective for the Jaguars defense as a physical presence in the run-game. Last year, he had 108 combined tackles, which is consistent with his first two seasons. It also shouldn’t be overlooked that he has stayed healthy for most of his young career.Downsides: The holes in Cyprien’s pass-coverage ability were exposed this year on multiple occasions. Pro Football Focus ranked Cyp as the 87th best safety in the NFL and his pass coverage rating was a gut-wrenching 47.6. If his pass-coverage can’t improve with incoming additions to the Jags pass-rush, we’ll definitely see Cyprien take on a more limited role in the Jaguars defense. If he does improve this offseason, he could be a force in the Jaguars secondary for years to come.

Was this a good pick?As a second round draft pick we would expect for Cyprien to be a more complete safety by now. The Jaguars had high hopes for him to raise his stock in 2015 but I see him being more of a role player in the future.

Pick three:Dwayne Gratz

Upsides: Gratz has had minimal impact in his three years with the Jaguars. At times, he is a decent tackling corner who contributes in the run game.Downsides: Gratz is a below average corner who has trouble staying on the hip of number one receivers. He has the worst pass coverage rating on our team at 51.3 according to pro football focus which makes him a liability against pass-heavy teams and also makes him virtually unusable on third down.

Was this a good pick?As a third round pick, Gratz was definitely a bust. I do not expect he will have a prolonged stay with the Jaguars.

Pick four:Ace Sanders

Upsides: Sanders was effective as a punt returner and number three receiver during his brief stint with the Jaguars.Downsides: Sanders had some off the field issues and therefore is no longer with the team. His future in the NFL is bleak at this point.

Was this a good pick?Not a total bust in terms of talent, as he could’ve been effective with the Jaguars, but in hindsight we should’ve vetted him more thoroughly. It’s hard to tell which guys will choose the right lifestyle when they get to the NFL and unfortunately Sanders, like Justin Blackmon, was not one of those guys.

Pick five:Denard Robinson

Upsides: Robinson provides some athleticism and is a nice change of pace back for the Jaguars and can be effective in the passing game. When the Jaguars drafted Denard, they hoped they would be able to plug him in anywhere in our offense. The three-year product from Michigan has averaged four yards per carry over the past two seasons and is a good back up option for the Jaguars.Downsides: Robinson has had a fumbling problem in the NFL. In his career Robinson has had eight fumbles and lost five. If the Jaguars are truly going to improve, we must win the turnover battle and Robinson’s fumbling woes must end.

Was this a good pick?Based on where we drafted Robinson, he has more than satisfied the Jaguars need for some depth as a playmaker.

Pick six:Josh Evans

Upsides: Evans was one of our better pass-coverage safeties this year though, unfortunately, that isn’t saying much as our secondary is sup-par. Evans does have potential and could provide depth at the free-safety position assuming the Jaguars re-sign him in 2017.Downsides: Evans is prone to making mental mistakes and at the free safety position that often means giving up a big play. He was our worst rated safety against the run and pulled a meager 44.0 rating (compared to Cypriens’ 45.3 and Sergio Browns’ 67.8).

Was this a good pick?Josh Evans provided the depth we needed at the free safety position for much of the 2015 and 2016 season. He is certainly not the best option in the secondary, but in our time of need, he helped out. Evans’s future is unclear with the Jaguars, but he will likely be replaced in the upcoming draft if the Jaguars end up drafting Jalen Ramsey. Based on his mediocre performance and uncertain future, Evans isn’t truly a bust because he was drafted in the sixth round, but he certainly isn't a huge asset either.

Pick seven:Jeremy Harris

Jeremy Harris had a limited NFL career with the Jags and we wont have an upsides and downsides for Harris because he only played six games for the team.

Was this a good pick?
​It is hard to say that Harris is a bust as a seventh round pick, but his career with the Jaguars was very short. The fact that we acquired Demetrius McCray with our eighth pick suggests that he was slightly overvalued, but it wasn’t a huge gamble. With that said, I’d call it a bad pick.

Pick eight:Demetrius McCray

Upsides:Generation Jaguars’ Travis Johns recently wrote an article about the most underrated Jaguars and McCray made thelist. Without a doubt, McCray was one of the most highly valuable players of the Jags 2013 draft, especially because of where we drafted him.

Downsides: McCray has trouble covering athletic receivers with great leaping ability deep down field and has been beaten by that skill set several times. Once he learns the Jaguars scheme better, McCray will be a fantastic addition to the Jaguars secondary.

Was this a good pick?This was by far the best pick that the Jaguars made in the 2013 draft class and even if we don’t see a large amount of production with McCray in our defensive backfield, he’s a valuable asset on special teams. This was definitely a quality pick.

Overview

Although we may not have acquired any long-term talent (still up in the air as to whether any of these guys will pan out) in the 2013 draft, Dave Caldwell was looking for the right, young pieces, and we’ve seen incremental improvement. Don’t worry Jags fans — I have a feeling that 2016 will restore your faith in our General Manager.

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